The 49th state to be admitted to the Union. Christianity was introduced into Alaska by the Russians in 1794, but prior to its purchase by the United States, no Catholic priest had settled there. In 1871Bishop Clut of the Athabascan-MacKenzie district, with an Oblate priest, Father Lecorre, wintered at Fort Yukon, and journeyed down the Yukon River to Nuklukhoyit. They preached to Ten'a and Eskimos, making many conversions. Bishop Clut returned, leaving Father Lecorre with a mission at Saint Michael. In 1878 Father Althoff established a mission at Wrangel, and visited the Cassiar country and the coast. He was assisted by Father Heynen at Sitka. Of the nursing Sisters of Saint Ann who came to Juneau in 1886, Sisters M. Zeno, M. Bonsecours, and M. Victor deserve special mention. Charles John Seghers, Archbishop of Victoria, had taken up the evangelization of Alaska, and with two Jesuits, Fathers Paschal Tosi and Aloysius Robaut, and a man named Fuller, crossed Chilcoot Pass. The Jesuits remained at the mouth of the Stewart River, while the archbishop and Fuller proceeded to Nulato. Fuller, in a fit of insanity, shot and killed Archbishop Seghers. This tragedy retarded missionary work in Alaska.

Ecclesiastically, the state is governed by the archdiocese of

and the dioceses of

See also